Container structure



J. P. MARKERT.

CONTAINER STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. a. 1919.

1 g gg I r Patented June 8, 1920,

7 I J/mR Marker! @513 15 arrow-121 5 7 14, Mb I lib unrran STATES, rarest JOHN P. MARKEPJT, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

conranrnn s'rnuorunn.

1,343.,tltl2.

Application filed March 3,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Joint P. h'lAnKERT, a citizen. of the United States, resldlng at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State in packaged form and without the necessity of employing additional packing elements.

l hile the invention is adapted foruse in various connections and for various pur poses, it is especially adapted for use in the packing of fragile articles such, for in stance, as electric lamp bulbs of the incandescent type, an article which is of such type as to inherently present weaknesses when subjected to the difficulties of a packaged condition. These weaknesses are more or less obvious, and may be briefly indicated by calling attention to the fragile character of the bulb and of the filament, either of which may be broken by 'j'a'rs or shocks placed on the lamp while it is positioned in the package.

While lamps of this type have been carried in container structures of various types, these container structures are generally of a special formation and include additional packing elements-secured or unsecured to the container structure blank-but these structures are not only more or less-expensive, by reason of the character of mate ial employed, but also by reason of the necessity for careful packing operations, so that the cost of the package and packaging operations form a very material factor in determining the selling price of the lamp itself.

The presentinvention is designed to meet these difficulties by theproduction of a con tainer structure of such form as to be capable of ready formation from a single blank; which is capable, when the lamp is positioned therein, of withstanding the normal conditions presented while the lamp is in packaged condition; which will permit of the location of the lamp within the corn tainer with rapidity and without the,necessity of the use of expert labor, and which can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

To these and other ends, therefore, the

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June a, 192 6). 1919. Serial No. 230,234.

nature of which will be readily understood I as the invention is hereinafter disclosed, said invention consists in theimproved constructions and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanylng drawings and more particu larly pointed out in the appended claims.

n the accompanying drawings in which similar ference characters represent similar parts in each" of the views,--

Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of blank which may be employed in producing a container according to the general principles of the present invention, the particular blank shown illustrating difierent ways of shaping the supporting flaps.

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of an end of an embryo container prior to the shifting of the supporting flaps to the operative position.

Fig. 3 is a similar view with the supportmg flaps shifted to supporting position.

igs. a and 5 are detail sectional views taken on the lines H and 5-5 respectively of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an end of an embryo container showing supporting flaps of a different type, the view showing the flaps in position prior to their location 'in supporting position.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 6 with the supporting flaps moved to a supporting position.

Fig. 8 is a central longitudinal sectional View of both types of flap formations, the flaps being located in supporting position with a. lamp seated thereon, the blank being com pletely folded to produce the final package.

Fig. 9 isa perspective view of a coinpleted package. f

In the drawings, wherein l have illustrated one embodiment which may be employed in carrying out the general principles of the invention-an embodiment designed to meet one special use and which will serve to illustrate difl'erent features of the invention itself -the blank for rov'iding this embodiment is shown in ig. 1, being of a type which can be readily cut from paper or paste board of any desired weight through use of any of the well known instrumentalities for producing blanks. This ability to utilize the general instrumentalities is made possible principally by a container structure employing lit) " is provided by ends as shown in the present embodiment;

the particular form or combination employed will depend upo the particular 'use to which the container is to be put. The two types of configurations shown will be described separately.

The blank generally comprises a body portion scored to form the four walls 15 of a tubular formation, the arrangement being such as to provide a short extension 15 which is adhesively or otherwise secured to one of the walls to complete this tubular structure. At corresponding ends of' alternate wall portions of the blank the latter carries flaps which form the inner flaps when the container is closed, while the corresponding end of one of the remaining wall portions carries a flap 16-forming the outer member of the inclosure-this flap 16 carrying an extension 16 which is slipped between the end ,of the opposite wall and the inner flaps to completethe closure and provideasubstantial container construction.

In general practice a formation such as just described may be of the tubular body, the opposite end having a fixed construction, or both ends of the tubular body may be arranged to provide for opening and closing the container. The blank of Fig. 1 is shown as of the double-ended type.

The tubular body portion and flap 16 with their extensions need not be. varied from the usual type, the change from this type being in the configuration of the inner flaps which will now be described. In general practice these inner flaps are of an angular configuration with a projecting length to permit their location on a single plane or provide for an overlapping relation of the ends of the flaps.

Referring first to the flap construction shown in Figs. 2 to 5, respectively, the two flaps are indicated respectively at 17 and 18, these being suitable for the purpose as shown in the blank of Fig. 1. As shown, theseflaps each have a projected length sufficient to produce an overlapping relation between the flaps when'the latter are brought to a right angular position relative to the direction of length of the body por-' located at the one end tion as shown for instance in Fig. 2. The general change from the usual flap configuration is provided on the outer edge of each flap, flap 17 being cut away inwardly or rearwardly from said edge to provide an elongated recess 17 extending rearwardly from said edge, thus producing a pair of tongues 17 at the opposite ends of said edgethe opposite side edges of the flap. The depth of the recess may vary accord ing to the particular formation of the container structure to be produced.

The general characteristics of flap 18 are opposite to those of flap 17, in that the cut away portions, 18 are located at the -opposite ends of the advance edge of the flap, leaving the central portion of a tongue-like configuration, the length of a recess 18 being complemental to tongue 17*, the tongue like portion 18 be ing complemental in length to the length of recess 17*. In other Words, the edge configurations of the flaps have a tongue to recess relation.

Since the particular container structure shown is designed as a carrier for incandescent electric lamps, and for this purpose it is desirable that provision be made to permit of the pointed projection of the lamp bulb passing through the support in order that the bulb itself may rest upon the support, the flaps 17 and 18 are arrangedto permit of the passage of this projection by forming .a small recess extending inwardly at the approximate center of the advance edge portion of each flap, this recess on flap 17 extending inwardly from the bottom of recess 17, while the recess 18 of flap 18 extends inwardly from the advance edge of the tonguelike structure 18 recess 18 be-.

ing, for the purposes presently described of greater depth than recess 17 c and serving to practically produce the efi'ect of a separate tongue on each side of the recess 18.

The support for the bulb is provided by simply moving the two flaps inwardly into the interior of the body portion, a distance sufiicient to permit tongues 17 to pass into recesses 18 or tongues 18 into recess 17*, depending on which flap is uppermost; it is preferred, however, that the flap 18overlap flap 17 in the position of Fig. 2, so that the inward movement can be provided by applying pressure to flap 18, both flaps moving inwardly until the ends of tongues 18 pass by the inner wall of recess 17- thus crossing the plane of flap 17after which pressure is released the spring-back of the flaps producing flap engagement.

.This inward movement of the two flaps the similar length of.

simply permits tongues 18 to pass to the opposite side of flap 17, while tongues 17" are held on the inner side of flap 18 by the bottom of recesses 18. As will be understood the -flaps may be inthe reverse posinaaaooe tion, in which case the movement will cause tongues l7 to cross the plane of flap 18.

As a result the tongues of both flaps become located .on the inner side of the inwardly-moved' flaps, the arrangement pr0- viding practically an interlocking or interengagement ot the two flaps against a return movement, the interlocking thus maintaining the opposing flaps in inward positionin the presence of the contents-end producing practically the effect of an inverted ll formation, recesses 17 and 18 combining to form an opening through which the teat of the bulb can extend, the bulb portion itself resting upon the line oi interlock.

As will be readily understood, the movement of the flaps, to the interengaging or interlocking position is an extremely simple operation, requiring no careful attention or the use of high-priced labor, enabling the production of the support for this end of the bulb to be produced under comparatively high capacity conditions even though the operation be provided'by hand; Since the flap engagement serves to provide a recess of substantially fined dimensions at the end of the container beyond this support, which recess is closed by the movement of llap 16- to its closed position, the projecting end of the bulb is protected since the latter extends into this space and is practically held out of contact with flap 16 under ordinary conditions.

@bviously, recesses 17 and 18 may be enlarged to any desired extent, and the tongue and recess formation may be varied as to length, even to such an extent as, to provide a simple opening sufiicient to receive the opposite end of the bulb. This would permit both endsof the container to have the same general interlocking flap formation, and this arrangement is, of course, contemplated by the present invention.

owever, the arrangement maybe varied, by arranging the edge configuration of the two flaps in the manner shown in Figs. 6 and 7, in which the flaps 19 are more or less similar in configuration on the advance edge,

each being cutaway to form a recess 19*, extending inwardly from the advance edge of the flap, th'us practically producing tongues 19 at the opposite end of each edge.

he recesses preferably have a depth such as would prevent a flap, when moved in wardly so recess tree from contact with the lamp base, returning past the base, thus retaining the flap in an inward position as shown in Fi 8. This may cause the tongues 19 to pass out of contact with each other, dependent upon the size of the lamp base, but it is preterred that the recess be so arranged that when this position of the, flap is provided the tongues 19 of one flap will contact with aiowever,

as to carry the bottom oi the the similar tongues of the other flap, either with both tonguesot a'flap on the same side of the tongues of the other flap, or with one of the pair of tongues of a flap located on one side of the corresponding tongue of the other flap, while the second tongue of the pair is on the opposite side of the corresponding tongue of the second flap, thus tending to not only produce the holding or clamping action provided by the bottom recesses l9 engaging the lamp base while the extending inwardly, but in addition, providing an interlocking efiect between the tongues of the two flaps.

Obviously the, tongue and recess formation of the flaps of Figs. 7 and 8 may be varied as to size, etc, even to an extent where recesses l9 would combinedly produce but a small opening, thus making the structure applicable for use in connection with the projection or teat of the lamp bulb, thereby utilizing the same' form for both ends of the container; a

as shown in the drawings,,l prefer to use one configuration for one end and the other for the opposite end of the body portion where the article is of the character of an electric lamp bulb, since this permits of the use of each in its moreadvantageous form, the two structures efiiciently supportingthe opposite ends of the Since both ends of the lamp bulb are sup ported by the inwardly inclined flaps provided in such form as the characteristics of a truss formation, it

to produce some oi will be readily understood that after the o lamp has been secured in position,-it will be held firmly against dislodgment through any ordinary endwise shaking or jolting action, since any outward pressure applied upon either ot the to more firmly engage the interlocking or clamping features and thus maintain the resistance which is provided. in addition to providing the support attheopposite ends of the lamp bulb ll prefer to provide one or more of the-walls of the; body portion of the container with a depression or depressions at suchpoints opposite the larger portions of the contained bulb. These depressions, indicated at 20 may be provided by. die action, while the blank is in its flat "form, and may be in the form of a single depression or a numbered suchv depressions, these latter combinedly tending to produce a corrugated efiect.

hese depressions not only tend to provide a cushion action for the protection of the glass bulb ot the lamp contained within the in the walls as would be a container, but also have a cooperating efiect bility that such movement in maintaining the integrity of the end supports through the fact that these depressions, in contacting with the-bulb, tend to prevent shifting movements of the latter 'transversely in sucli'way as to permit bulb movement, thus eliminating even any possimight affect the flap formation of flaps, it being readily understood that by preventing all movements of the lamp after it has been propsuch walls, tend to remove any possible liability of breakage of the bulb under such conditions.

As heretofore pointed out, the general structure is such as to be capable of use as a container for various commodities, especially where the latter is of such a type as to need the eiiect of suspension to maintain its integrity. The invention is therefore not limited to the particular use pointed out.

As will be readily understood the invention is one'which can be employed without any material increase in cost of manufacture over the ordinary container structure, and at the same time provides for a superior structure to take care of the particular needs which this type of container is designed to meet. The changes'from the ordinary blank employed are small but they are of such character as to permit the construction of the improved support without the necessity of employing skilled labor or careful timeconsuming attention,- thus tending to materially decrease the cost of the packaging operation.

While I have herein shown and described various ways in which the invention may be embodied and utilized, it will be readily understood that changes and modifications therein may be found desirable or necessary to meet the various exigencies of use, and I desire to be understood as reserving the right to make any and all such changes and modifications as may be found desirable or essential, in so far as the same may fall with in the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims, when the latter are broadly construed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. A carton having a pair of opposite endflaps,

interlocking elements carried by both of said flaps and adapted to maintain them in engaged position with the line of intersection of the flaps spaced inwardly 'from the end of the carton, and means carried by Lat-3,002

'other flap and adapted to engage said recess, the construction being such that when the tongue and recess are in engaged position, the line of intersection of the flaps will.

be spaced inwardly from the end of the can ton, and means carried by each flap cooperating to engage a portion of an article in the carton and hold said article in position.

3. A. carton having a pair of opposite end flaps, one of which is provided with a recess at its-inner edge, a tongue carried by the other flap and adapted to engage said recess, the construction being such that when the tongue and recess are in engaged position, the line of intersection of the flaps will be spaced inwardly from the end of the carton, each of said flaps being recessed to provide a pair of opposite engaging elements, formed by the outer marginal portions of said recesses, cooperating to engage opposite sides of an article in the carton to maintain it in position therein 4. A carton having a pair of opposite end flaps, one ofwhich is provided with a recess at itsinner edge, a tongue carried by the other flap and adapted to engage said recess, the construction being such that when the tongue and recess are in engaged position, the line of intersection of the flaps will be spaced inwardly from the end of the carton, each flap having a notch in its inner edge portion, said notches being so constructed and arranged that when the flaps are in folded position the notches form opposite sides of a recess in which a portion of an article in the carton may be located to hold said article in position therein.

5. A carton having a pair of opposite end flaps, one of which is provided with a recess at its inner edge, a tongue carried by the other flap and adapted to engage said recess, the construction being such that when the tongue and recess are in engaged position, the line of intersection of the flaps will be spaced inwardly from the end of the carton, said tongue being notched outwardly from its inner edge, the bottom of said recess being similarly notched outwardly, the notches being so constructed and arranged that when the flaps are in engaged position said notches will form the sides of a recess adapted to receive a portion of an article in the carton to hold it in position therein.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set m hand.

y JOHN P. MARKERT. 

